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Magnificent Makers

Makers, crafters, and creators of weird and wonderful things… you should read You Share Good by artist Gwenn Seemel. It’s both a free culture manifesto and a work of art in and of itself: a discussion of what it means to create and share, and a showcase of the artist’s bold and distinctive paintings.

Best of all, the whole book is free to read online. Look at me sharing it. Mwahahaha.

Her art is loud, joyful, and often irreverent. I love it. I also love her philosophy of sharing, remixing, setting your creations free and seeing them be shared and remixed in turn.

On that note the Bioware store is sold out of nugs and I’ve got the itch to make a new pattern…

You may have noticed by now that I don’t sell the things I make. Each project takes more time and work than I could possibly sell it for. Earning a living by creative work is tough business, and I have mad respect for all the makers of weird, wonderful, and geeky things who do.

I usually support independent makers by buying from them, but if you’re reading this blog you might have similar tastes. So, in an effort to signal boost some Magnificent Makers, I’ll be posting about them from time to time.

I was wandering the streets of Porto when I came across a street fair tucked into a secluded square (don’t worry, this isn’t turning into a travel blog):

Artists, crafters, musicians… almost everything being sold was made by the person selling it. Cold beer in hand (from the smart entrepreneur under that far red umbrella… it was a hot day), I had to stop at By Xila‘s table:

Marvel, onigiri, kitties… now I’m wishing I bought all of them.

Lego jewelry and keychains…

Even videocassette purses and audiocassette wallets…

Her prices were very reasonable… I’m kicking myself for not buying more of the felted brooches! If you don’t happen to live in Portugal, By Xila has an Etsy shop and Facebook page.